Geisinger Commonwealth holds White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2021

A chaplain, a Fulbright scholar and a music therapist; 22 students with graduate degrees and 31 students who are the first member of their family to go to college. These and other accomplished individuals received the first symbol of their new profession as Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) held its ninth annual White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2021 on Friday, Aug. 4 at the St. Robert Bellarmine Theater at Scranton Preparatory School.

At the ceremony, Geisinger Commonwealth’s president and dean, Steven J. Scheinman, MD, told the students, “Some doctors succumb to the temptation to think of their white coat as a shield, or a barrier, or a status symbol… You won’t be one of those doctors. You will come to see this white coat not as a symbol of status, but as a reminder that your role is one of service: to the community and to your patients.”

Gerald Tracy, MD presented the Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture, named in honor of the well-respected physician and educator from Luzerne County. Dr. Tracy is a co-founder of Geisinger Commonwealth and a champion of local medical education.

The Class of 2021’s 113 future doctors participated in a ceremony, held in common with virtually every other medical school in the nation, designed to welcome new medical students into the profession. Students recited an oath acknowledging their responsibilities as future physicians and their obligations to future patients. Then they were cloaked with the white coat – the mantle of the medical profession – by a member of Geisinger Commonwealth’s faculty. White coats were provided by The Stanley J. Dudrick, MD, and Alan G. Goldstein Endowed Fund.

A reception immediately followed in the lobby of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Medical Sciences Building, 525 Pine St., Scranton.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.